Odisha State Legal Service Authority reconstituted

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 25:

The state government on Monday reconstituted the Odisha State Legal Service Authority (OSLSA).

As per the advice of the High Court, the state government has nominated Law Minister Arun Sahu, parliamentarian Balabhadra Majhi, MLA Sashi Bhusan Behera, lawyer Prashant Kumar Khuntia, Prof Aditya Kumar Mohanty and Prof Jayanti Jagdev as members whereas Cuttack and Khurda District Judges have been nominated as official members.

Notably, the Chief Justice of High Court of Orissa is the patron-in-chief of the OSLSA and the senior judge of the High Court is the executive chairman of the legal body.

The State Legal Services Authority has eight official members which include the Chairman, High Court Legal Services Committee, Principal Secretary, Dept. of Law and Finance Secretary, Director-General and Inspector-General of Police, the Advocate General, Chairman, Odisha State Commission for Backward classes, District Judge, Cuttack and District Judge, Khurda at Bhubaneswar.

This apart, the State Authority has five nominated members namely Law minister, a senior lawyer of Orissa High Court, an MP, an MLA, and an eminent social worker who has experience in the field of law, finance, social service or administration and who are engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections of the society, including schedule castes, schedule tribes, women, children, rural and urban labour and who are interested in the implementation of the legal service schemes.

OSLSA is the statutory body under a Central legislation called “Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987”. While Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the Patron-in-Chief of the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA), a senior judge of the apex court is the executive chairman of the NLSA.